Dodd Endorses Obama for President

February 26, 2008

By JOHN SULLIVAN

Senator Christopher Dodd, a leading Democrat and an early candidate for the party’s presidential nomination, announced Tuesday that he is endorsing Senator Barack Obama.

Both Mr. Obama and his rival, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, had sought Mr. Dodd’s support after Mr. Dodd dropped out of the race following the Iowa caucuses last month.

The endorsement comes as polls show Mr. Obama’s campaign is gaining strength. According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, Mr. Obama has moved ahead of Mrs. Clinton nationally, with 54 percent of Democratic voters supporting him compared with 38 percent for Mrs. Clinton.

“He is ready to be president and I am ready to support him in this campaign,” Mr. Dodd said at a news conference in Cleveland, The Associated Press reported.

Mr. Dodd, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who was first elected to the Senate in 1980, is also a Democratic superdelegate.

The endorsement also comes just before Tuesday night’s Democratic debate, the last before a spate of critical primary contests, including Texas and Ohio. The debate, at 9 p.m. at Cleveland State University, comes after days of both campaigns increasing their attacks.

Mrs. Clinton has launched a concerted effort to question Mr. Obama’s credentials and his experience. In a speech on Monday, Mrs. Clinton compared Mr. Obama’s foreign policy experience to that of President Bush, saying “we’ve seen the tragic result of having a president who had neither the experience nor the wisdom to manage our foreign policy and safeguard our national security.”

Mr. Obama has countered with criticism of Senator Clinton’s record, including her support for the war in Iraq.

The topic that has drawn the most attention is a photograph posted on The Drudge Report showing Mr. Obama in ceremonial African clothing. Matt Drudge said that the photo was sent by someone in the Clinton campaign, prompting blistering criticism from Mr. Obama’s camp. David Plouffe, his campaign manager, called the photo “the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party.”

It has not been independently verified who sent the photo. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign responded by charging that Mr. Obama’s campaign “should be ashamed” to suggest the photograph was offensive.




Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company